Best Nevada Sportsbooks + Sports Betting Sites

Sports betting is an exciting activity that allows countless individuals to fully enjoy the thrill of cheering on their favorite athletic teams. From basketball to hockey to baseball to football, and every sport in between, fans can have a great time (and, hopefully, make a little extra cash) by placing wagers on the games of their choice. But it is important to remember that not all states allow for sports betting. In fact, some have deemed it illegal.

The state of Nevada is one of the few states that actually allows for land-based sports betting. A major supporter of the gaming industry, Nevada has created a regulated sports betting system that provides residents with a convenient, fun, and legal way to place wagers. But is it legal for players to make bets online? This is a tougher question, one that will be explored further throughout this article.

Is it Legal to Bet on Sports in Nevada?

Nevada is one of the friendliest states when it comes to gambling. With Sin City being its most popular attraction, it is only natural that the state is interested in supporting its healthy gambling industry and providing residents with ample opportunities to place their bets. The state has established a regulated sports betting system that allows players to visit bookies to make their wagers. You can read up on Nevada’s vast gambling laws here (Nevada Revised Statutes 463.0129 et seq.)

Nevada, long a haven for land-based gaming activity, now is leading the way for the rest of the nation when it comes to legal online gambling availability for citizens of and visitors to Nevada. Nevada, of course, was the first state in the nation to offer, on an intrastate basis, legal online gambling in a regulated environment.

Plus, with Nevada being the only state fully exempted from the now-overturned Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), it had far fewer hurdles to clear when it came to regulating online sports wagering. Thanks to their long-standing legal experience with land-based sports wagering, it is legal for Nevada residents to bet sports online, and many area casinos offer dedicated iPhone and Android apps for their sports wagering products.

However, these apps are all geo-fenced, meaning that, in order to use them, bettors have to physically be inside the state (or sometimes on a specific casino’s actual premises) to place their wagers. Offshore sportsbooks accessible over the Internet do not have this same limitation, and they are therefore a compelling option for most NV residents looking to place sports bets.

As we mentioned in the previous section, there are laws against Internet-based gambling operators based inside the state of Nevada who run their businesses in an unlicensed manner; however, the state hasn't actually prosecuted anyone for betting with these outfits, as the law is strictly focused on bookmakers and not individual bettors. But to keep yourself in the clear with regard to the legal code, it is always best to avoid prohibited gambling websites that are based in NV or elsewhere in the United States.

The best alternatives are the legal sportsbooks that are run internationally. These offshore websites offer convenience, safety, and security when it comes to your gambling activity—but only if you choose the right ones. It is crucial to remember that, unfortunately, there are websites out there that are looking to swindle players. Instead of worrying about whether or not your cash is secure, simply stick to the reputable, trustworthy sportsbooks that we have listed below. If you only do business with these bookmakers, you can stop worrying and start enjoying your gambling experience!

Where Can Nevada Residents Bet Sports Online?

The World Wide Web hosts countless sportsbooks, all created by different individuals or organizations that, most likely, will claim to have your best interests in mind. But the truth is that not all of these websites are trustworthy and, if you aren't careful, you can lose your cash if you place wagers using their system. Instead, stick to the trustworthy, long-established sites reviewed below for all of your betting needs.

BetOnline is the most popular offshore sportsbook that accepts NV residents. The site has been in business for going on three decades, and with more than a generation of odds under their belt, it’s clear that they know what they’re doing. If you live and play in Nevada, you’re definitely going to expect a top-quality betting experience, and that’s exactly what you’ll get with BetOnline.

BetOnline beats Nevada out in a number of ways when it comes to their sportsbook product. For one thing, no book in NV will take Bitcoin. For another, no book in NV will give you a $1000 bonus with your initial deposit. With BetOnline’s welcome bonus, you can get your first deposit matched at 50% (up to $1K). Just use promo code BOL1000, and you’ll immediately have a much bigger bankroll to play with.

SportsBetting is a robust international sportsbook, but where it really shines is in its deposit options for new and returning members. SportsBetting offers support for credit (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), debit, gift cards, bank wires, money orders, peer-to-peer payments, cashier’s checks, and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, and DASH. No matter how you keep your cash, SportsBetting will work with you to get your account set up and ready to go in just a few minutes.

New Nevada members who sign up to join SportsBetting now can choose from several great bonuses, though most opt to take the site’s 50% Welcome Bonus. Just type “SB1000” into the promo code field when you make your first deposit, and you can have up to $1000 in free plays added to your account to get you started off on the right foot.

5Dimes offers one of the most refined “Vegas” sports betting experiences on the Internet. Long celebrated as the bastion of player, team, and game props, Sin City doesn’t hold a candle to all the different wagers and wager types on hand at 5Dimes. This site is one of the original offshore NV sportsbooks, and it’s made its name on its wacky, big-game prop bets and its huge selection of alternate lines. You can find many of these wager opportunities across Nevada’s many books, but no book in the state houses all the options that 5Dimes makes available every single day.

Sign up at 5Dimes today, and you’ll be automatically enrolled in their exclusive, industry-leading Reduced Juice promotion, and you can even get up to $520 in free plays. To claim the latter, just make your first deposit with 5Dimes and shoot site support an email asking for the promo. No codes, no hassles, just tons of props and alt lines for everyone!

BookMaker is a truly old-school book. They haven’t got a fancy interface, but the site works smoothly on mobile and desktop browsers regardless. That said, while BookMaker won’t win any design awards, they’ve already won countless betting industry accolades, and they’ve established themselves over the last 30 years as being THE sportsbook for high rollers. To that end, BookMaker has the highest limits on deposits and wagers alike, so you can take a gamble and win huge any time you work up the nerve to do so.

Nevada residents who join BookMaker now can get up to $600 from the site’s sports welcome bonus for new members. While this is only a 15% match bonus on your first deposit, it’s the industry’s only CASH bonus, which means that members will meet the rollover terms of the promotion much faster than they would at other books. BookMaker also has the sitewide BetPoints program that rewards members for frequent wagering, win, lose, or draw.

BetDSI has long been a great Nevada sports betting site, and now the service finally looks the part, too. Thanks to a thoughtful new site design, the once-static BetDSI is now a welcoming, easy-to-browse, sports betting powerhouse. You can wager on their mobile web-app with just a few swipes and taps, and you can even enjoy live wagering on national and international fare.

BetDSI accepts members from all 50 US states, and Nevada residents can sign up and start betting in just minutes, thanks to BetDSI’s credit, debit, and Bitcoin support. You can sign up via any method and claim the site’s welcome bonus, which will give you up to $500 in free-plays to enjoy (promo code: “BTB200”).

MyBookie is one of the newest sports betting sites to serve Nevada sports bettors. But even though the site was just launched a few years ago in 2014, it’s already established itself firmly among the industry leaders in the state. Further, MyBookie has done this by going in the opposite direction that most books choose. Instead of offering a full slate of international sports odds, MyBookie only has action on the top American leagues. These include the MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, and NCAA. As such, MyBookie is laser-focused on providing American bettors with the most competitive odds on the games they love most of all.

If you live in Nevada and sign up for MyBookie today, you can make your very first wager a risk-free bet of up to $20. You can also elect to receive the site’s 50% deposit match bonus that will put up to $1000 in free-plays in your pocket. Both are good choices, and MyBookie takes Visa, Mastercard, and gift card deposits via NetSpend, Visa Vanilla, and Green Dot. You can also fund your account – and request payouts – with Bitcoin!

Nevada is one of the only states in the US that currently offers single-game wagering on every sport, though the overturn of PASPA means that more states are getting on board all the time. NV, however, has enjoyed a substantial head-start in the industry. This is because the state legalized sports betting in the mid-1940s and then was granted a virtual sports betting monopoly by the passage of PASPA in 1992 (which was finally overturned in 2018). Nevada has land-based sportsbooks that are housed in their casinos as well as sportsbooks that have standalone shops. Certain Nevada sportsbooks even have online betting sites that correspond with their land-based counterparts.

Nevada sports betting laws are covered in the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS). Section 463 * https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/ * is the operative portion, but it is extremely intricate and lengthy, which is to be expected. In the NRS 463, you’ll find all the applicable definitions about sports wagering (including things like “banking game,” “mobile gaming,” “interactive gaming,” and “sports pool”).

It should be noted that as things currently stand, daily fantasy sports – or DFS – is not available in Nevada. That said, DFS is technically legal in NV, but the state gaming commission considers it to be traditional gambling and is insistent that any operator who wishes to do business in the state must pay the requisite taxes and licensing fees applied to the rest of the gaming industry. Because there is industrial lobbying taking place to specifically characterize DFS as different from sports betting and other “gambling,” the major operators (FanDuel, DraftKings, Yahoo!) have so far chosen to forego offering their services in NV.

Nevada residents, as well as those who visit Nevada, are able to partake in sports betting in a regulated manner in the state. They are also able to use online, offshore sportsbooks which have been surpassing what Vegas offers for decades now. There are no state or federal laws that prevent the use of either NV-based or international online sportsbooks. It’s up to you which you think is better for what you’d like to bet on, as there are more legal avenues for sports betting in Nevada than there are anywhere else in the US.

That said, you will almost always find better lines and more valuable odds at offshore sportsbooks that serve Nevada residents than you will at local gambling hotspots. Honestly, unless you’re the kind of bettor who plans to wager astronomical sums on individual events (like, say, Floyd Mayweather, Jr., dropping million-dollar bets on various NBA and NFL playoff games), then offshore sportsbooks are almost always the way to go.

While Nevada regulated the nation’s first legal, U.S.-based online gambling operation, many smaller sportsbooks cannot really afford to implement a workable online solution. As such, it remains in the player’s best interest to rely on sportsbooks, located offshore, that have reputations of fair, high-quality operations and legal participation by Nevada residents.

If you stick with the bookmakers we reviewed above, you can rest assured that your money will be in safe hands. All of these sportsbooks are trusted, have built solid reputations, and are known for their dedication to supporting their members. Legal, offshore sportsbooks that you can trust are the best way to go if you are looking for somewhere to place a bet online.

These books are not regulated like domestic online NV sports betting sites are, as they exist fully outside of US legal purview. However, offshore sportsbooks are regulated by the gambling laws of their own nations, and they are further overseen by industrial watchdogs who research and report on any perceived malfeasance. The sites we trust have proven themselves over decades, and their continued patronage by discerning American sports bettors is the best endorsement any such page can possibly earn. These companies trade on their online reputations, and customer service is always their utmost priority.

Current State Of Online Sports Betting In Nevada

Nevada remains one of a very few states where betting on sporting events is legal in land-based facilities. And in what might be considered a change of heart, Nevada now leads the way in the quest to make online gaming in all its forms, sports betting included, a legal and regulated activity. This process has begun and is ongoing, and laws will change to follow the stated will of the people who view online wagering as a personal choice, not a criminal activity. That said, there are currently no online gambling bills slated for review for the state’s upcoming congressional session.

FAQ’s

Do I Have To Pay Taxes On My Winnings?

Technically, there’s no way for the IRS to find out how much you have gambled or won when you use an online sportsbook—until you cash out. But that doesn’t mean you should try to dodge your taxes. We recommend that you pay them in full, so that down the road, if and when you get audited, you aren’t hit with a gigantic fine on top of having to owe back taxes. Don’t try and play with your money – just pay the taxes and be on your way. It’s much less painful than the alternative.

What Sports Can I Bet On?

It really depends on what sort of sportsbook you’re using. Nevada land-based sportsbooks will more than likely cover just American sports with a smattering of other things like the World Cup and the Olympics as they draw closer. At online, offshore sportsbooks, you’ll have a much wider selection of American, European, and other international events to wager on. This is because these books have a wider market to cater to, opening up opportunities that Nevada sportsbooks could never offer. For a full list of the sports you can bet on, go to any one of the sportsbooks we recommend on this page. You’ll be able to find their full menu right there on their homepage.

What Type Of Gambling Is Best?

The best type of gambling is the one that you feel most confident participating in. Gambling is a uniquely personal activity, so what works best for your buddy might not be what’s best for you. You might have an eye for spreads or be particularly talented at predicting game totals. When first starting out with sports gambling, it’s all about trial and error and finding out which type of wagering works best for you.

Biggest Gambling Mistakes Nevada Residents Make

One of the biggest mistakes that bettors can commit is following the crowd. Betting odds are not representative of chance or probability. Instead, they’re a representation of the payout and a reflection of public opinion. If a lot of people think that one team is more likely to win, oddsmakers take that into account and adjust the lines accordingly.

When you go to bet, don’t base your wager off of what everyone else is doing. Do your research and stick to your guns. Just because one book gives longer odds to the team you wanted to bet on, that doesn’t mean that the team is going to lose. It just means you stand to gain more if they win. Don’t be a sheep. Trust your gut and place the wager you – and you alone – feel comfortable with.

Why can’t I use Bovada if I live in Nevada?

Bovada is not offered to residents of Nevada, though the rationale for this is unclear – especially since other top sites take NV customers with no problems. While we can guess that Bovada’s policy has to do with its commercial bookmaking ventures in other countries (and perhaps with its attempts to become a commercial domestic US book in the future), the real reason behind why they limit this access is unknown. It is important to note that Bovada could be available to Nevada bettors in the future, as the site just recently started accepting players from New York. (Bovada is also currently unavailable to residents of DE, MD, and NJ.)

Is Nevada considering any new sports betting legislation?

No, Nevada is not currently considering any new sports betting legislation, as the laws in the state have been hammered out and streamlined over the course of several decades. In 2010, NV legalized online sports betting, and that was – and remains – the last piece of the puzzle. If Nevada decides to expand its sports wagering laws in the future, it is likely that the associated daily fantasy sports (DFS) industry will be the subject of that new legislation rather than the traditional sports wagering marketplace.

Why can’t I access my daily fantasy sports leagues in Nevada?

Nevada considers daily fantasy sports (DFS) to be gambling, and since the major operators – sites like FanDuel and DraftKings – have not agreed to do business under the state’s terms, they are geo-fenced (or blocked) from access. This means that NV residents and visitors cannot access their for-money DFS leagues while physically inside the state. However, the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) has stated that DFS operators may open their doors anytime, provided they abide by the state’s tax laws and standards governing gambling.

Do all Nevada sportsbooks have statewide mobile betting?

No. Nevada is home to upwards of 200 sportsbooks spread out across the state at various casino venues, but only a comparative handful of operators offer full statewide sports wagering. The biggest brands (Sands, MGM, Caesars, Wynn, etc.) all have sports betting services that operate throughout the state over the Internet. However, if you wish to have access to better, more valuable odds and lines on a regular basis from the comfort of your own home, you would do well to consider offshore sports betting sites. Even better, these sites are not limited to those physically inside NV, which makes them superior for those who do a lot of interstate traveling.

Why can’t I bet on entertainment and political events in Nevada?

Nevada sportsbooks are governed by the mandates of the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB). The NGCB has had a longstanding rule in place that things like entertainment odds and political odds are not allowed to be offered by sportsbooks. In fact, the NGCB typically only allows sports bets that pertain to actual regulation or overtime action on the field of play for any given contest, so things like Super Bowl coin flips and the color of Gatorade baths are not offered. These are all popular categories at offshore sportsbooks, however, and they represent yet another reason why such overseas Internet books are often better for resident bettors.